Lasiosiphon polycephalus

Lasiosiphon polycephalus, previously Gnidia polycephala, commonly known as Karoo broom and in Afrikaans as besembossie (little broom bush), is a spreading, rounded shrub of up to 1 m tall, often shorter.

A short woody stem on a strong taproot forms the base of a great deal of branching. The thin green stems are most of the time leafless. The narrowly elliptic leaves with pointed tips drop off early from the new growth that follows rain.

The distribution extends in the arid inland through the Western Cape and Northern Cape Karoo to the Eastern Cape, the Free State, North West and also Botswana and Namibia. This photo was taken at the beginning of September near Olifantshoek in the Northern Cape.

The habitat is short scrub on dolerite ridges and sandy slopes in very dry regions. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The plant invades overgrazed land. The plant is not browsed and poisonous to livestock during the flowering season (Shearing and Van Heerden, 2008; Gledhill, 1981; Vahrmeijer, 1981; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).